


Girls Fall Like Dominoes

by hi_irashay



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AS PER USH, Bonus ficlet, Character Study, FEELINGS AU, Gen, Literally nothing to see here, i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:15:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21732832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hi_irashay/pseuds/hi_irashay
Summary: Girls, girls, every dayFrom Bright Moon, the Fright Zone, and all Etheri-ay(Dumb lil' character study ficlet in which NOTHING HAPPENS)
Kudos: 3





	Girls Fall Like Dominoes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FlameBlownWhiter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlameBlownWhiter/gifts).



> Soooooooo I bingewatched all of She-Ra thinking I’d surprise my girl for our fic exchange, but TURNS OUT she never actually gave a prompt for it so I wasn’t sure what kind of Feelings she'd been having haha. I couldn’t come up with any inspiration on my own (SORRY) but like… I watched so much TV. For Her. I couldn’t let it go to (the crimson) waste! So accept this dumb, plotless, half-baked thing as a consolation prize? 
> 
> Basically I was listening to some Nicki Minaj and was like MMMMMM CATRA VIBES haha (title/sort-of-inspo-but-not-really from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCrEuvr6vQ8 )
> 
> This is NOTHING, but I had fun anyway.

_A girl could get used to this_ , Catra thought to herself as she pulled the whip taut - grip in one hand, the length of it wrapped around the other. She relished the way the Lashor gang seemed to collectively straighten up at the sound of it. Or was it the sight of her that called them to attention, this foreign outsider who had defeated their leader? She didn’t really care either way. It felt good to be seen, to be recognized, to be raised up. _For once._

But Catra refused to get complacent, she knew how these things went. They followed her now, yes, but how come? She would take their fear until she had something better to work with. They bowed to her now, yes, but for how long? She would lead them until she had what she came for, until her mission - and thus their usefulness - was complete.

It had barely taken any effort for her to become their new leader, after all. A couple of slick moves, a few witty rejoinders - all in a day’s work for a Force Captain, really, nothing to write home about. Scorpia had performed her role of Adoring Sidekick admirably, as always. But Catra had long since given up the illusion that Scorpia’s opinion counted for anything where it mattered. With whom it mattered, rather - with Hordak. 

And that’s all Catra could care about, if she were to make all she’d been through mean something. She knew it hurt Scorpia, she saw the pain in Scorpia’s eyes even as she tried to maintain a smile. But Catra couldn’t get attached, couldn’t ever put herself in the position of counting on someone else again. It was a necessary evil, and a lesser one than letting herself get sucked in.

Catra turned away from the gang and walked a little ways into the Waste. Everything felt differently here, from the ground under her feet to the air shimmering erratically around them. _This is a place of secrets,_ she thought, _of things hiding in plain sight._ She dropped the length of the whip to bring a hand up to shield her eyes, trying to see further across the landscape. Catra knew Adora was out there somewhere, with her little band of princesses and sidekicks. She could feel it. _Out there without you,_ a voice in her head whispered. _Out there not caring that she’s without you._

Catra grunted in frustration, trying to clear her mind and focus on the task at hand. She knelt down onto the sand and squinted at the ground in front of her. She could partially make out a series of footprints leading off and to the left. Catra let out a low chuckle at the find - score one for old fashioned observation. 

“Bet Entrapta could never have seen this!” she muttered to herself in sly glee. Entrapta was… odd. Unmistakably brilliant, sure, but odd in a way that Catra didn’t trust. And yet even she was capturing Hordak’s attention, winning his favor so easily. 

Entrapta had achieved in a matter of days what it had taken Catra a lifetime to work up to. She rode in on her robots and made it look so goddamn easy, just like Adora had. Nothing seemed to stick to her, not a care in the world for any obstacles she might face. Ultimately she was just another stone on Catra’s climb to the top. They all were, really - Adora, Shadow Weaver, all these stupid Princesses.

Of this, Catra was certain - she would be the one coming out on top in the end, not them. It was the only option, no matter the cost. Catra took a deep breath with a long exhale, before standing up and looking over her shoulder.

“HEY,” she called back to the gang, in the most authoritative voice she could muster. “They headed this way, come on.” She started off after the faint trail of footsteps without checking that she was being followed. She knew they would be right behind - they were hers, now, with their old leader fallen. 

They all fall in the end. And if she wasn’t careful, if she didn’t guard her steps and calculate her every move carefully, Catra might too.


End file.
